Served Serve Serving I Time Hot Extra Examples

• breakfast is served between 7 and 10 a.m.
• when do you stop serving hot food?
• pour the sauce over the pasta and serve immediately.
• shall i serve?

serve

Verb Forms

1. to give somebody food or drink, for example at a restaurant or during a meal
• Breakfast is served between 7 and 10 a.m.
• When do you stop serving hot food?
• Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve immediately.
• Shall I serve?
• Serve the lamb with new potatoes and green beans.
• They served a wonderful meal to more than fifty delegates.
• The delegates were served with a wonderful meal.
• She served us a delicious lunch.
• The quiche can be served hot or cold.

Extra Examples

• Cover and chill the salad until ready to serve.
• Serve chilled.
• Serve with rice or potatoes.
2. to be enough for somebody/something
• This dish will serve four hungry people.
3. to help a customer or sell them something in a shop
• Are you being served?
• The bar staff spend more time chatting to friends than serving customers.
• She was serving behind the counter.
4. to be useful to somebody in achieving or satisfying something
• These experiments serve no useful purpose.
• Most of their economic policies serve the interests of big business.
• How can we best serve the needs of future generations?
• Art serves an important function in our society.
• His linguistic ability served him well in his chosen profession.
• This old car has served me very well.
• The story would be better served by slowing down a little.
5. to provide an area or a group of people with a product or service
• The centre will serve the whole community.
• The town is well served with buses and major road links.
6. to work or perform duties for a person, an organization, a country, etc.; to spend a period of time in a particular job
• He served as a captain in the army.
• She was elected to serve as secretary of the local party.
• to serve as president/director/chairman
• He served under Tony Blair in the 1990s.
• She served in the medical corps.
• His father served with distinction in the First World War.
• He proudly served his country during the war.
• I wanted to work somewhere where I could serve the community.
• She has already served two terms as mayor.
• He served a one-year apprenticeship.
• He served the family faithfully for many years (= as a servant).

Extra Examples

• Have you ever served on a jury?
• I currently serve on the Board of Directors.
• He served on active duty in the US Marine Corps.
• He served with distinction in the First World War.
• She served in the US military for six years.
• I shall continue to serve as a trustee.
• She has served in an advisory capacity for a number of groups.
7. to be suitable for a particular use, especially when nothing else is available
• The sofa will serve as a bed for a night or two.

Extra Examples

• The Declaration served primarily as a propaganda piece.
• The texts ultimately serve as springboards for the artists' imagination.
• The first chapter serves as a useful introduction to the subject.
8. to have a particular effect or result
• The judge said the punishment would serve as a warning to others.
• The highly visible ruins serve as a reminder of the building's history.
• There are several women in the field who have served as role models.
• The attack was unsuccessful and served only to alert the enemy.
• This only served to complicate the situation further.
9. to spend a period of time in prison
• prisoners serving life sentences
• She is serving two years for theft.
• He has served time (= been to prison) before.
10. to give or send somebody an official document, especially one that orders them to appear in court
• to serve a writ/summons on somebody
• to serve somebody with a writ/summons
11. to start playing by throwing the ball into the air and hitting it
• Who's serving?
• She served an ace.
12. to perform two roles or functions at the same time
• This device can pull double duty as a decent laptop and an adequate tablet.
• She deserves credit for serving double duty as a host and performer.
13. people will be dealt with, seen, etc. strictly in the order in which they arrive
• Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.
14. if I remember correctly
15. used to say that something that has happened to somebody is their own fault and they deserve it
• Left you, did she? It serves you right for being so selfish.
16. to be useful for a particular purpose or period of time
17. to support two different parties, principles, etc. at the same time

Word Origin

• Middle English: from Old French servir, from Latin servire, from servus ‘slave’.